In recent weeks, the British royal family has garnered significant attention, particularly amidst swirling conspiracy theories regarding the Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton, including speculations about her whereabouts and health.
Following these speculations, several posts have surfaced on X alleging that a royal announcement has confirmed the passing of King Charles III. A number of these posts feature an image of an announcement dated 18 March 2024, purportedly from Buckingham Palace, with a statement that the King had passed away unexpectedly on the afternoon of 17 March 2024.
Is King Charles alive?
While the posts on X appear to share an official announcement attributed to Buckingham Palace, searches of the Palace’s official website and social media accounts did not reveal any statements about King Charles’ demise.
The alleged official announcement also appears to have been created and/or edited to resemble the Palace’s official announcement of the late Queen’s death, lending it a semblance of credibility, although its origins remain unclear. There were also no reports on the British monarch’s death by any major news outlets, indicating that the claim is likely false.
Furthermore, the most recent update about the King, released by the Palace, contradicts rumours of his passing. On 19 March 2024, King Charles was reported to have met with veterans of the Korean War at Buckingham Palace to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice – an agreement ending the conflict.
How did the rumours start?
The speculations about King Charles’ death seemed to have stemmed from claims circulating online that the BBC Studios Events team, typically responsible for covering events related to the Royal Family, had been notified by the Royal Family to be on standby for an important announcement.
Additionally, the King’s cancer diagnosis, which was disclosed earlier this year, appeared to have led netizens to speculate that the supposed impending announcement might pertain to the monarch’s death.
However, fact-checkers have investigated the claim regarding BBC’s alleged notification and have found it to be unproven. There was no credible evidence to indicate that the Royal Family alerted BBC to be on standby for an imminent announcement.
How did the claim spread?
The claim regarding King Charles’ death appears to have begun circulating after major news outlets from Russia reported on the King’s demise. Subsequently, this false information was picked up by media outlets in Ukraine and Tajikistan and was propagated further through social media channels.
However, these claims were promptly refuted by the British Embassy in Russia and Ukraine.
Hence, the claim that a royal announcement has officially confirmed the passing of King Charles III is false.
The circulation of this claim serves as a timely reminder of the importance of verifying information that we might come across on social media. While certain images or documents, such as the alleged official announcement declaring King Charles’ death, might appear legitimate at first glance, it is worthwhile to take the time to verify such content before circulating them to avoid spreading misinformation.
